Dear Sirs,

On behalf of Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, I thank you for your letter sharing your position with regard to the French legislation on minimum wage (Loi Macron) and expressing your concerns regarding the infringement case with Germany on the application of the German Minimum Wage Act (MiLoG).

Regarding the French law on the application of the minimum wage to road transport, which entered into force on 1 July 2016, I wish to inform you that, already in July last year, my services have requested clarifications from the French authorities regarding the scope of application and the enforcement requirements of their national provisions.

I wish to assure you that my services have been active in pursuing the matter. Following discussions with the German and French authorities on the application of their minimum wage laws to transport sector and based on a comprehensive assessment of the compatibility of their measures with the EU acquis, basic EU freedoms and principle of proportionality, the Commission decided on 16th June 2016 to launch the infringement case with France and proceed to the next step in the infringement case with Germany.

My services are also striving to reach an appropriate solution, which will balance the social protection rights of workers and the freedom of providing services to ensure the smooth functioning of the EU Internal Market.

As you may know, the Commission’s proposal of 8 March 2016 for a revision of the Posted Workers Directive highlights that the implementation of the current Directive to the international road transport sector raises particular legal questions and difficulties, which should be addressed through sector-specific legislation.

Therefore, the Commission will assess the issue of the posting of workers in international road transport in the context of the on-going review of road transport legislation.

Yours faithfully,

Violeta BULC

The letter can be read here: VB reply to transport carriers